Get Backers FanFic : The Witch Hunt
by Belanciequ
Summary: The Kaiser clan was being hunted down and tried to bring Ban back to German. After a month passed without any words from his partner, Ginji decided to retrieve Ban-chan along with his friends. What would he find? Please R&R!
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer : I do not own the GB characters, only ones that I made up myself ^^ Please R&R! _

**Prologue**

The bell rang and suddenly the whole place burst into life.

It was lunchtime, and the canteen was crowded by students craving for food. Like most high schools, the food served was horrible, but at least it was edible.

Or so she had thought.

Looking down at grayish lump of meat at her plate, Eva Adler sighed and pushed her tray away. She wasn't in the mood of figuring out its flavor and possibly got food poisoning. Around her bunch of cheerleaders and boys of the soccer's team were chatting noisily, sometimes burst laughing, and giggling at dirty jokes. They were her so-called 'friends' in this place.

Tamara, a cute girl with long, sleek brunette hair, nudged her. "Something wrong?"

Eva smiled, secretly grateful for her attention. But she was unsure of what she should say. "Nah. It's nothing."

"You look down."

"Mmm." She twisted a fork, playing it with her fingers. "Hey, what do you think of the new student?"

Tamara giggled. "Brian? Oh my God, don't tell me you have a crush on him! Well, he's pretty good-looking, but he's.. kinda like a geek, you know?"

Eva rolled her eyes. Sometimes she was fed up with this kind of talk. "No way in the hell, Tam. It's just strange that he was transferred here at this time, right?"

She looked thoughtful, even though Eva wasn't sure that her brain was capable of doing such thing as _thinking_. She wasn't the dumbest person in the world, but.. "I guess you right." Tamara shrugged. "But he said his family runs a business in here.. Or maybe he got kicked out..Anyway, that's not our problem."

Eva stabbed a tomato with her fork. She knew her friend was right, that it was none of her business, but her guts told her something was wrong with that boy.

* * *

><p>She double-checked her reflection at the mirror in the girls' bathroom and re-applied her lip gloss. Only one more lesson and she could get the hell outta here. Well, actually she didn't mind school, because she was able to meet new people and making friends and gossiping.. and just being ordinary. Aside from the boring lessons and pathetic teachers, she loved it here.<p>

All the girls' talk, the cheerleading, boys flirting with her.. They almost made her forgot about the witch's blood flowing in her veins.

Almost. But not completely.

She knew that someday she would have to return to the Kaiser household and fulfilled her responsibility, but now, she only wanted to savor every precious moment with her friends. It mattered not if they didn't actually like her; the important thing was she being accepted as one of them.

She stepped out and nearly stumbled into a boy.

"Sorry." She mumbled. Then she realized whom she had bumped into. "Holy crap!" She muttered under her breath. It was the transfer student, Brian Adams: the cute boy who had been giving her a very bad vibe.

"It's okay." He smiled. His smile was supposed to be attractive, but she found it creepy instead. "My fault. Are you okay, Adler-san?"

"I'm fin-" She stopped. "How do you know my name?" She eyed him suspiciously.

The boy shrugged. "Well, you're pretty famous around here. It would've been strange if I haven't heard about the Homecoming Queen, right?" He grinned.

Eva blushed. She still wasn't used to compliments. There wasn't much praise for her back in the household. "Thanks, if you say so." She gestured toward the classrooms. "I had to go back."

"Sure." But he didn't move an inch. "After you're finished with me."

She raised her eyebrows. "What's that mean?"

Suddenly, it was hard to breathe. She grabbed her neck, choking, and struggled to breathe. Then the room spun fast in front of her eyes, forcing her to kneel in vertigo. The noises disappeared completely and finally the two of them left alone in a gloomy, deserted room.

She gritted her teeth and tried to straighten up. "Son of bitch! What've you done?"

She could feet magic emitting from the boy, a strong gleaming aura surrounded his body, and Eva knew he had casted a barrier. Cursing herself for her lack of caution, she put up her own barrier. But Brian only laughed. "Do you think you can win with that pathetic skill of yours, little Eva?" His first attack hit her shield violently, draining her magic fast as she tried to stand her ground. When it was over, she was panting heavily and decided to back away, putting some distance between the two of them.

"Jagers." She swore. "You dogs of that detestable church!"

His face twisted into a burning rage. "Careful, bitch." He hissed. "No one insult our home."

"That's right." She sneered at him. But despite the situation she was in, she was puzzled. Why was there a hunter after her? Jagers only hunted rogue witches and Underworld creatures.. Or so she had been told. She decided asking wouldn't hurt. "Hey." She asked quietly. "Why are you here?"

He stared at her questioningly, and sounded a little amused when he answered. "Why, I'm doing my job, that's why." He launched a series of attack toward her.

"Jagers only hunt those who trespass the Law." Cursing under her breath, she ducked to dodge the attacks. "And what I'm doing in here is attending school. Even though I'd have to agree that studying algebra is a crime, I'm not doing any harm." She was out of breath. It had been a month since she abandoned her training and now she was worn-out. In addition, she hadn't got time to summon her familiar.

_This sucks_, she thought. If she didn't careful..

Brian laughed. Then suddenly, as fast as an arrow, he leaped behind her. Eva gasped and turned around, but it was too late. With one fast, smooth motion, he hit her neck and knocked her out.

Standing in that dimly lit room with the girl slumping in his arm, Brian smiled triumphantly and snapped his fingers. Suddenly they were back at the empty school corridor, not even a second had passed from their encounter in front of the bathroom.

He chuckled. "You said you're not doing any harm? Let me tell you something." He bent over her and whispered at that unconscious young witch's ear."Your crime.. is that you _live_."

* * *

><p>A man sat on an oak antique chair, his hand ruffling his copper hair in frustration. "Is that true?" He groaned in a devastated tone. "She was also taken away?"<p>

A beautiful middle-aged woman nodded. She was wearing a secretary suit and the look at her face was dead-serious. "I'm sorry sir, but it has been ascertained. After investigating the disappearance of our former comrades, it turns out that many of us had been hunted down by the Jagers, including Eva Adler."

"And your resource said they're working with shamans?"

"Yes."

He closed his eyes and sighed. "This is a big problem." He seemed lost in deep thought. Her secretary stood patiently.

"We could not afford any more loss." Finally he spoke in a low, harsh voice. "And we also cannot let those cursed hunters and shamans roam freely anymore." A dangerous glint gleamed in his eyes. "We'll make them regret for challenging the Kaiser clan."

"Should we inform him?" The woman asked with a soft tone. "As you already know, Schilian-sama, even the Council is not capable in uniting all witches. Only one can."

He grunted. "I guess you right. But I'm warning you, he'll not be easy to persuade. Throwing the name of Kaiser and walk away as if we don't exist.. Really, what an ungrateful brat."

The woman seemed anxious. "Please, don't speak of him in that manner, Schilian-sama."

"Fine, fine." He sighed. "We'll request him to return.. No, bring him back no matter what." She nodded obediently. "After all, we only have one ruler, and that is the Kaiser family."

"Bring him.. Bring Midou Ban back to German at all cost."


	2. Chapter 1  Messenger

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of GB characters! Only ones that I made up myself ^^ Please R&R!_

_I re-read this chapter and found some things that bother me.. So I decided to fix it a little . Gomen.._

**Chapter 1 – Messenger**

"I've had enough of this crap!" Ban slammed his favorite coffee mug on the table. They were sitting on the GB usual booth. "We worked our ass all night long and still hadn't got paid?"

"You mean, don't get paid."Paul said. "As far as I know, they have no intention in paying you."

Ginji laughed sheepishly. "Well, at least we save the little girl."

Ban glared at him. "Next time, no work for free." He sighed. "Where's Hevn when we need her the most?"

The welcoming bell of Honky Tonk café made a little ringing sound when the door opened. The Get Backers raised their heads expectantly for a job that could probably save them from starving today. But instead a tall, auburn-haired woman entered the café. She was wearing a black trench coat and sunglasses. She took off the glasses and gave a flashy smile. "It has been a long time, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Aware of the smile directed towards them, Ginji looked at Ban in confusion. "Ban-chan, are you an acquaintance of her?" In instance Ban recognized her. He lighted his cigarette and breathed the smoke out. "Well, can't say I know her well." He nodded at that woman. "Lilian."

"Glad you still remember me." She spoke fluent Japanese, her accent perfect. She gestured toward the seats. "May I sit down?"

"Of course!" Ginji leaped off his seat and moved closer to Ban, giving her some space. She ordered a Blue Mountain coffee, but her eyes never left Ginji, as if she was examining something amusing. Ginji shifted uncomfortably in his seat, but then she smiled and said, "You have a great partner, young master."

Ban snorted. "Is that so? And stop with the 'young master' crap. Just go straightly to the point."

"Um," Ginji glanced at both of them. "I'm a little bit lost in here. So, who are you to Ban-chan, anyway?"

Lilian reached out her hand and shook Ginji's. "Sorry for not introducing myself first. My name is Lilian Wolfe. I was also one of the Witch Queen's disciples, same as Maria Noches." After hearing Maria's name, Ginji lighted up and transformed into chibi mode. "You're also Maria's friend!"

"Friend?" Her face was blank. "Ah.. yes.. You could say that."

"Why are you here?" Ban asked. "I thought you have settled in Germany after being married to the Wolfe family."

"Indeed, I am. Actually I'm now working for the Schilian family." She smiled and took a cigarette out of her pocket. "May I?" She asked politely. Ginji nodded. "Of course! Ban-chan also smokes all the time, even though I've been telling him it would make him got a cancer!"

A punch landed on Ginji's head. "Shut up."

Lilian coughed. "Well, Schilian-sama wanted me to do him a favor. Rather than sending a bunch of Council members, he asked me to personally inform you about the clan." She sighed. "We're facing quite a crisis back in German. To put it simply, we're being hunted down one by one. If this continues, we'll be extinct."

"I'm extremely sorry to hear that." Ban replied with his usual devil-may-care attitude. "And as for your information, I have nothing to do with all that 'magic crap' anymore. So you could get your ass out of here and forget about meeting me."

"Ban!"

Lilian waved her hand to Ginji. "It's okay, Ginji-san." She sighed. "I already know you'll say that. But I heard that you two are Get Backers." Ban raised his eyebrows. Ginji nodded. "Yup! We're a retrieval agent with almost 100% success rate!"

"Don't say almost!" Another punch landed at Tare Ginji's head, followed by an 'ow!' sound. "Yeah, so what?"

"So now as your client, I'm asking you to retrieve the witches who were taken by the hunters."

Ban was speechless. _Damn, she got me_. He gritted his teeth. Ginji and Paul were looking at him, expecting his reaction. For God's sake, couldn't they just leave him alone? He _hated_ it there, the Kaiser household. Not to mention all the hypocritical and greedy rich, noble men swarming in there. But it seemed that he didn't have any choice. He was, after all, a Get Backers. And Get Backers never failed.

"Is that it?" He sipped his coffee. "To bring back the witches?"

Lilian nodded in enthusiasm. She actually had been pessimist on whether she'd succeed, but then it turned out great. Maybe being a Get Backers was really an important thing for him. "Yes."

"And the payment?" Ginji opened his mouth to protest but Ban raised his hand in silent gesture. His partner shut up, but his face portrayed disapproval. Lilian tried her best not to roll her eyes. His clan was falling apart and all he thought was money? Looked like he didn't change that much, she thought bitterly. "We could give you five million yen each. And of course we'll afford all of your transportation and accommodation needs."

She smiled when Ginji's eyes widen. "Fi-five million each!" He turned to his brunette partner who was strangely quiet. "Ban-chan! We could eat meat for months with that! We could even rent an apartment!"

Paul, who was wiping mugs, added up. "And you can pay your tab that way." Ban glared at him, but Paul only shrugged. "What? You don't expect I'll be giving you two free foods forever, right?"

He sighed. This had gotten complicated. He looked at Tare Ginji's direction, whose eyes were sparkling with thought of imaginary foods. Usually he'd immediately take up job with this kind of payment, but he wasn't ready to show his naïve partner the dirty side of the world. He sighed.

"Fine."

Lilian's head shot up in joy. "Really?"

"Yeah, but I want to make a deal."

Her eyes narrowed in anticipation. 'What is it?"

"First," He pointed up a finger. "Make that ten million." He saw Lilian's face twisted into anger and smiled. "Second, I'm working alone."

For a moment, none of them spoke. Then Ginji jumped out in shock. "What! You can't leave me here, Ban-chan!"

"Yes sure I can." He lit up another cigarette, his expression calm. Lilian was studying him, but actually she didn't really care whether his partner came along or not; it would make no difference. She shrugged. "Okay, deal."

"No! Wait!" Now Ginji stood up in anger. "There's no way you'll be going without me! Doesn't S in Get Backers mean we're never alone?" Ban sighed.

"Yes, moron. And that's why you're there or not wouldn't matter, right?" He smirked at his partner. Ginji tried to argue, but he couldn't find any appropriate words. He slumped down in defeat. Then Tare Ginji looked at him from the floor with his pleading puppy-dog-eyes.

But this time Ban didn't budge. "Go do some errands for that computer boy or something." He referred to Makubex who still ruled the Infinity Fortress. "Or you can take up Hevn's jobs with monkey boy or whatever."

"But.."

"Ginji." Paul spoke up. "Let him do what he wants."

Ban looked at him with surprise. He didn't expect Paul to back him up. "Thanks, old man." He nodded. "Do what you need to do." He smiled sadly. "But come back in one piece, will ya?"

Suddenly Ginji remembered Paul had let Der Kaiser went back to German._ Maybe_ _this was the best for Ban-chan_, he thought. It was a family business, after all. Ban grinned at Paul, but his eyes grateful. "Of course."

Ginji walked toward Ban and hugged him tightly. "Ow! Ginji! You nearly electrocute me!" Ginji laughed a little. "Sorry, Ban-chan." He released him. "Come back fast, okay?" Ban smirked and landed a light punch on his partner's blond hair. "Don't worry; we'll be eating meat in a month from now!"

Lilian straightened up. "Thanks for the coffee, Paul-san. It was awesome." He nodded. "Let's go, Ban-sama."

"Heh." Ban snorted. "Let's finish this as fast as possible."


	3. Chapter 2 Retrieve Banchan!

_Disclaimer : I do not own any of GB characters! Only ones that I made up myself ^^ Please R&R!_

_I'm not sure how to write this chapter.. sorry if there're lots of mistakes inside . anyway, please enjoy! =p_

**Chapter 2 – Retrieve Ban-chan!**

"Take this! One thousand volts!"

Kazuki stored his threads back to the bells. "Um, I think that's enough, Ginji-san."

Ginji was breathing heavily. In front of him, more than a hundred men in black suit laid on the ground, their burnt body stacked together. "Goodness, looks like I went overboard again." Ginji said sadly.

"It's okay, they're still alive." Kazuki replied reassuringly. "But you seem a little bit..worn-out."

"Stress might be more suitable." Shido approached them after taking care of his own attackers. "He has been like that since Midou-kun gone."

"It's not like that." Ginji sighed. "It's just.. Ban-chan promised he'll come back in a month, and it's already six weeks."

Shido snorted. "Maybe he's just playing with too many girls and forgets to come home."

"Maybe.."

Kazuki patted him on the back. "Let's go. Makubex's waiting." They nodded and walked away.

* * *

><p>Makubex stopped typing when he saw Ginji and the others coming back. "Welcome back, everyone!"<p>

"Here." Shido threw a disc to him. "It's the item you request."

"Thanks. Great work, by the way. Especially for Ginji-san, although I feel kinda bad for asking you to do job like this even though you're a retriever."

Ginji smiled a little. "No problem. I'm happy to help. Besides, I have nothing to do since Ban-chan hasn't come back yet.." His smile faltered. Jubei was puzzled by his upset tone and asked, "Is something bothering you, Lightning Lord?"

"Eh?" Ginji was speechless. "No, it's nothing.."

"Is it about Midou-san? He's in German, right?"

"Well.. I just have a bad feeling about it. Ban-chan hasn't contacted me at all.." Tare Ginji slumped on the floor. "It's just..I feel strange without him. No one to fight over the pizza, no nasty smell of cigarette smoke, no Ban-chan's usual snide remarks, no Get Backers' retrieval missions.." He sighed heavily.

Behind him Shido secretly rolled his eyes, thinking how could there was a person who missed that snake-bastard's smart-ass comments. But even though they bickered every time they met and seemed to hate each other's guts, Shido had to admit he was curious about his disappearing. And although he was a jerk there was no way that man would abandon his partner.

"Well, if that's so, why don't we search for him?"

Shido's eyes bugged up. "What're you saying? Kazuki!" But the String Master sounded calm. "Well, don't forget that Midou-san also had a role on freeing the Lower Town from Gods of Babylon City.. It just feels right to return the favor."

Shido stared at him with disbelief, but Kazuki only shrugged. To his surprise, Jubei even agreed. "It makes sense."

This was insane. But when he opened his mouth, ready to argue, he noticed Tare Ginji was all teary. "Kazu-chan! Jubei-chan! You'd really do that?" Kazuki smiled. "Of course, Ginji-kun. I meant every word I said." Jubei only nodded.

Makubex bit his lip. "I'm sorry, Ginji-san. I'd very much like to help, but as you see, Mugenjou needs someone in charge."

"It's okay, Makubex-chan, I understand." Then Ginji looked up to him with a puppy-dog-eyes of his.. "Shido, are you coming?"

Shido gritted his teeth. _No way he'd lose to those pleading eyes.. There's no way.. He has to resist it.. Remember about nasty things that snake bastard had done to him.._

Makubex spoke up. "If I were Madoka-san, I'd surely encourage you to come, Shido-san. Midou-kun, after all, is also Madoka-san precious friend.. She'd be very dissapointed if something happens to him and you do nothing about it."

With that saying, Shido broke down. He snapped. "Fine! I'll come! But only because Ginji asked me to do so!" He turned his back and resisting the urge to bump his head to the wall over and over.

"It has been decided then," Kazuki said."We're going to retrieve Midou Ban."

* * *

><p>Natsumi pulled a pink boxer with teddy bears out from the bag pack and shouted in joy. "Kawaii! Gin-chan, is this yours?"<p>

"Nani?"

Shido and Paul, who were discussing about their departure, gaped. Kazuki's eyes widen and he was open-mouthed. "Ginji-san.."

Ginji blushed. Desperately he tried to snatch it back. "No! You got it wrong! It's Ban-chan's!"

"Hate to admit, but I doubt Midou-san possesses any pink boxer.." Shido murmured. Paul was constipated. Maybe it was because he tried his best not to burst out laughing. On the other hand, Rena and Hevn who were sitting on the booth had laughed so hard tears were running down their cheeks.

Ginji coughed, tried to regain some of his dignity. He wouldn't mind showing it off to Paul, Shido, and the others.. even Hevn-san was fine. But in front of Natsumi-chan? He was dying out of shame. Sulking, he transformed into chibi mode.

"Would someone kindly tell me what's happening in here?" Jubei asked. Kazuki, who had also been laughing, approached him and whispered about the pink teddy boxer.

"Okay, that's enough." Hevn clapped her hands. "Let's go back to our real purpose, helping Ginji packing his suitcase. Natsumi-chan, please put.. it.. down. Rena-chan, help me tidy up the toiletries, will ya?"

"Hai, Hevn-san!" And finally they got down to work. Tare Ginji sighed in relief.

"So, how about the travel expenses, Kazuki?" Shido looked at the String Master. "Is our money enough to cover them all? We could borrow some from Makubex if it's necessary."

"No, I think we'll be fine." Kazuki shook his head. "But the bad news is that Makubex's unable to locate this 'Kaiser Clan' resident." Jubei raised his eyebrows.

"That can't be. Makubex's a genius."

Kazuki bit his lip. "That's true, but the problem is we couldn't find any data or whatsoever about Kaiser at all.. it's as if they're not exist."

"And how do we find something that doesn't exist?"

They all looked at Tare Ginji who was pacing back and forth carrying various items. They exchanged glances and sighed. Jubei spoke, "I guess we only have to rely on the Lightning Lord's bond with Midou-san."

Shido snorted. "I mean no insult, but I've to remind you that Ginji's sense of direction's just _horrible_."

Suddenly, Ginji's cell phone vibrated. He picked it up. "Moshi moshi?" All heads turned to his direction. After listening for a minute, Ginji suddenly lighten up in joy.

"Ah! Maria-chan! How's it going?"


	4. Chapter 3 Arrival

_Dislcaimer : I do not own any GB characters! Only ones that I made up myself ^^ Please R&R!_

_This is my favorite chapter so far, so please enjoy =p_

**Chapter 3 – Arrival**

_Witch hunters, huh?_

Ban was standing in the arrival gate, cigarette in hand. It was two am in German, and he got this suck-ass vertigo because of jetlag. He desperately needed a mug or two of Paul's coffee – and sleep.

Of course, he had been warned about those Jagers by his grandma ever since he was a child, very often it was sickening. They called themselves Crusader, and in most times they were no threat to the Kaisers; in fact, together they established laws between humans and witches. In the past hunters were only after rogue witches who killed for pleasure, and mostly left the clan alone. But it looked like everything had changed.

Ban looked up to the night sky. He hated to admit it, but he had started to miss his partner's companion. Ginji was always noisy, whimpering about food and other things, but it never got boring with him around.

"Holy crap." He muttered softly. He was starting to get attached to that idiot.

"Midou Ban."

Startled, he turned around. Suddenly in front of him stood a biggest man he ever seen – damn, this giant freak was even bigger than that undead bastard Hishiki – with all his bare skin, including his bald head, covered in tattoo-like ornaments.

Once glance and he knew that man was a shaman.

He grunted. "Such a warm welcoming party." He said bitterly when that man produced a giant sword and began chanting spells. It didn't take long before the sword started to glow in a bloody red color, emanating dangerous aura. His size didn't seem to decrease his speed when he leaped above Ban, his sword slashed the air.

He was fast, but Ban was faster. He dodged it easily with a smirk on his face, but quickly realized he underestimated that baldy freak. What he held wasn't an ordinary sword; instead, it divided itself into disgusting red tentacles that lashed into the air wildly. Immediately Ban ducked and backed away.

That man laughed. "Careful, brat." He hissed. "You'll get bloody if you're not."

"Really?" Ban snorted, straightening himself as he tried to ignore the pain. "You're not on the same level at me, bald giant freak."

In a second he was in front of him, his muscles tensed. He roared. "Snakebite!"

There was a clash sound, but instead of flesh Ban found his fist collided with an invisible barrier. He gritted his teeth. That shaman had erected a barrier without him noticing.

That man laughed again. "Is that what the head of Kaiser Clan capable of?" He sneered. "You're just all talk." He stretched his hand forward to the air, closed his eyes, and started chanting another spell. Ban quickly recognized it; a summon spell. He swore.

"_Claustra_." He muttered. A transparent barrier shielded him. It was almost too late. Right after the shaman completed his spell, massive black smoke rose up from the floor around him and launched itself toward Ban. He knew it was a horde of evil spirits; remains from negative thoughts and desires of dead souls. He also knew that if it just as much as grazed him, he would become their new host.

_Over my dead body_, he thought.

He watched in satisfy when the spirits' attempt to break through his barrier resulted in vain. Unlike familiars, these spirits didn't have brain to work out magic on their own. He smirked. "So, baldy, isn't it you who's all talk?"

Almost lazily, he pointed his finger at the spirits and concentrated in sending spark of magic to the tip at his finger."_Verschwinden abwenden_."

In an instant, the black smoke of spirits vanished.

Gracefuly, he jumped behind the shaman and grabbed his neck. In the middle of the fight earlier he had realized one thing: unlike him, that dumb giant freak had set the barrier only at his front. The shaman's face had gone completely pale. "Better not to move," Ban said calmly. "That is, if you don't want me to break your neck."

When the shaman struggled to free himself, Ban sighed. "There's no use. My snakebite grip is 200kg." With a quick motion, Ban hit that man's neck and let his body slumped on the floor as he lost consciousness.

Ban sighed again.

He lit another cigarette, leaning against a pillar. Back in the past he wouldn't hesitate to kill this man and his kinds; they were his natural enemies. But after years of being a Get Backers with Ginji, he now found it hard to kill. Heh. If the other witches ever found out, he'd be a laughing stock.

He looked down at the Asclepius in his hand. On second thought, he didn't care. He remembered in the past, with blood of his enemies covering his hands and smearing his face, he'd always wondered if his hand could be used to save a life, not to take one.

And the night became quiet again as Ban walked away, dragging his suitcase behind him.

* * *

><p>A young boy stood patiently on a tree branch. He was there all the time; his job was to observe the new head clan who just returned from distance. Now when the fight had finally over, he had no business in there. He jumped effortlessly to the ground, landed lightly with a soft <em>thump<em> sound although it was almost five meters height. Then he took out a cell phone and dialed.

_The number you're calling is out of the service area. Please call.._

He rolled his eyes. What was she doing at the time like this? He sighed. Then he glanced at the unconscious shaman. He grinned. _Let's discard some thrash first, shall we?_

He walked toward the shaman, humming a children's song. With one hand holding phone and one at the hip, he stood in front of him and chuckled. "What a useless guy. You can't even land a single hit on him." He kicked that giant man.

His body jerked. Then slowly, that shaman opened his eyes. His vision was still blurred, but after blinked several times he could figure out who was standing in front of him. "Sato-sama." He croaked. "I apologize. I'd surely kill him the next time we meet."

That boy looked amused. "You know, Mao, we never expect you to succeed from the first place."

The giant blinked in confusion. "What?"

He smirked and cocked his head. "We only want to know this young head's ability.. and my opinion, he haven't even showed quarter from his real strength. But thanks for your hard work anyway," He redialed the number. "Now you don't have any use for us anymore."

"What? Wait-" But the boy had already snapped his fingers. Suddenly flame burst surrounding that shaman's body, burning him mercilessly. He shrieked and screamed in agony, his hands waving frantically in panic. He tried to chant a spell to extinguish the flame, but the boy only giggled. "It's futile, Mao-san. My flame is holy fire. It would burn your bone down to ashes."

"_Moshi moshi?"_

"Ah! Sara! Finally!" He spoke over the phone.

"_What's with all that commotion?"_

That boy glanced over his back, where the shaman still struggled to put out the flame. "Nah, it's nothing."

"_So how's the surveillance job?"_

"Well, let's see.."

He walked away into the night, leaving all the screams behind.

* * *

><p>Not to Ban's surprise, there was a sleek, shiny black limousine waiting for him. The chauffeur must had had been told not to interfere with his fights. He bowed down but asked no question as Ban slipped to the backseat. The interior inside was extravagant; comfy creamy-colored leather seats accompanied by stereos and television. There was also a refrigerator, and Ban opened it up and took a can of Coke. Sipping it up, he wondered why he missed Paul's coffee so much.<p>

They drove in silence. Ban watched the streets blurred passing him, most were deserted. Well, sane people would be in their own beds by now, snoring in sleep. How he envied them.

Finally, they stopped in front of a desolated church. It was more like a ruin than a building; its towers were porous, the bricks mossy and weathered. Broken glasses from colorful window panes scattered everywhere. A small gate creaked softly, pacing back and forth because of the wind. Most people would find it creepy and stayed away from it as far as possible, which was just exactly the main idea.

The chauffeur opened the door and Ban stepped out. He bowed down again, then without any words got back into the car and drove away silently, leaving him alone.

Or not.

"Why don't you show yourself, rather than keep playing this hide and seek?" His voice was loud in the middle of that solitary place.

He could see his stalker cringed and stepped out from the shadow, revealing herself. She had a beautiful copper hair which fell to her back and a pair of sparkling green eyes. She was still young, maybe fifteen or so.

"So are you my guide for tonight?"

She nodded, her cheek flushed with pinkish color. She stretched the mini dress she was wearing and bowed. "It's an honor to meet you, Ban-sama."

"What's your name, girl?"

"Huh?" She was startled. "My name?"

"Yeah. How would I call you, then? Or you prefer I call you 'girl'?"

She shook her head fast. "No! Ah, I mean.. My name's Abigail. Abigail Adler."

Ban nodded. "Okay. Abi then" He walked toward the church gate. "Now, shall we?"

"Hai!" Abigail, still flustered, ran following him. Together they entered the church. He could feel this was the right place; magic hung heavily in the air, barriers set up at the perimeter. To ordinary human's eyes, this was only a church's ruin, but witches saw differently: a huge, countless gleaming magic circles floated in the air. Each circles served different purposes, and the one Ban would activate was one of the entrances to Kaiser household.

"Do you have the key?" He turned to Abi. She nodded, although her face was grim. Ban also had no wish to experience another teleportation: it was stomach-turning and always caused him severe headaches. He sighed. Hell, like he got any choice.

"_Aperiesque ostium_." He murmured. Suddenly a blazing light came from the center of the magic circle, blinding them both. The ground began to shake violently, and he knew it had been activated. He reached out his hand to the red-haired girl and shouted. "You ready?" She nodded and grabbed his hand.

With their hand linked to each other, the two of them stepped into the light.


	5. Chapter 4 Maria

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of GB characters! Only ones that I made up myself ^^ Please R&R!_

_By the way, I want to remind you that chapter two and four happens a month after Ban's departure..or you could see every odd chapters start from chapter 3 as flashback =p sorry if it's a little confusing.._

**Chapter 4 – Maria**

Madoka gazed at him with a concerned look on her face. "Are you sure you'll be fine in there, Shido?"

"No need to worry about me, Madoka." Shido was throwing his things into a suitcase. Today was their departure to Germany. At first Madoka offered to guide them, but Shido didn't like the idea of Madoka associating with these so-called witches and hunters.

Madoka bit her lip. "But you can't bring your animals along, right?"

Forcing the suitcase to shut, Shido sighed. "Well, yes, but I'm sure there're a lot of animals in German I could befriended with."

"..Right."

Turned around, Shido faced Madoka with a smile on his lip – even though the girl couldn't see it – and ruffled her soft, black hair. "It's okay. This is just like any retrieval job. I'll be back in.. I'm not sure, probably a week."

Madoka smiled half-heartedly. "Take care for me, okay? And pass my regards to Ban-san."

Shido snorted. "Heh. No need to concern yourself over that snake-bastard guy, Madoka."

She smiled, a sincere one this time. Then she tiptoed and kissed his cheek. "Then, enjoy your journey. And come back safe." Shido nodded even though she couldn't see it, and landed a kiss on her forehead. "I'll come back for you - definitely."

* * *

><p>"Maria!"<p>

Ginji hurriedly parked the Subaru in front of the Honky Tonk café and ran toward Maria in chibi mode.

"My, my, looks like you're always in high spirit, Gin-chan." Said Maria, hugging Tare Ginji tightly. Kazuki and Jubei entered, followed by Shido. Each of them brought a suitcase. Kazuki bowed politely toward the dark-skinned woman.

"It has been a long time, Maria-san." He noticed that Maria also had a large, colorful suitcase with her. Apparently, the witch didn't need anyone to inform her. She called yesterday, cheerfully asking if she could come along. "Are you really going with us?"

Maria, who was spinning Tare Ginji in the air, turned and smiled. "Of course! Beside, who would guide you if it wasn't me?" She winked. "Do you even know where the Kaiser resides?"

"Actually, we've asked Makubex to investigate it, and we found nothing."

Maria smiled. "That's not surprising. Even we witches have a hard time locating it. Now, let's get going, shall we?"

"Yeah!" Tare Ginji nodded enthusiastically. "Master! Natsumi-chan! We'll be going now!" Paul and Natsumi smiled and waved. "Have a safe trip, everyone!"

The waitress turned to Paul. "Master, they'll be alright, right?"

"Of course." The café owner, who was wiping coffee mug, grinned at her. "They'll come back here without you realizing it, begging for food and coffee." Natsumi giggled. "That's right!"

* * *

><p>After series of excitement and enthusiasm (Ginji had never fly before) finally Ginji settled down, followed by sighs of relief from his comrades. "Ne, Maria-chan, how do you know we'll be going after Ban-chan?"<p>

The almost-hundred-year-old witch smiled. "I had my own resource, Gin-chan. I knew that a messenger had come to collect Ban."

"How?" Kazuki asked curiosly. He could hear (or eavesdrop, to be exact) from distant with his threads, but it was impossible to know _everything_, right? Maria shrugged.

"Actually, one of the methods is to put up a barrier around airports and some other place, which will detect any newcomers. And ones with magic capability would specially activate it."

"That's.. convenient." Jubei spoke slowly.

"So you know this Lilian Wolfe Ginji's talking about?" asked Shido.

Maria's face became blank. "Ah..yeah.. we sorta met before."

Kazuki raised his eyebrows. "I get an impression you don't like her that much, Maria-san."

She waved her hand. "It's nothing. We might not act all buddy-buddy, but I can assure you she's trustworthy."

"So where's this Kaiser resident?"

She smiled mysteriously. "You'll see. But I convince you, it's anything but ordinary."

* * *

><p>Ginji jolted awake, startled. His heart pounded hard against his chest, sweats dripping off from his face. His back felt stiff from sitting all the time. <em>What the-?<em>

_Ginji.._

"Ban-chan!" His voice was hoarse. He knew he had woken up his comrades, and some of other passengers were glaring at him, but he didn't care. Kazuki looked at him with concern.

"Ginji-san, what-"

'It's Ban-chan!" He coughed, tried to clear his voice. "Ban-chan's in danger!"

"It's just a dream, Ginji." Shido murmured, his eyes were still closed. "Go back to sleep."

"No!" He insisted. "It's really Ban-chan! I have to go! I have to help him-"

A pair of cold hand grabbed his sholder from behind. Through the seat gap Ginji could see Maria stared at him, her eyes soft. "It's okay, Ginji."

"But Ban-chan.."

"Nothing we could do from here. That kid would've to make it alone, for now." Something glinted in her eyes. She smiled faintly. "It's fine. He's not the type that's easy to be killed."

"Midou-san'll be alright." Jubei spoke up. "If he could see you know, he would've laughed saying nothing could beat the invincible Midou-sama." He smiled at Ginji. "Right, Lightning Emperor?"

He calmed down. Jubei was right. Ban-chan would've scolded him for not believing in him. Still, he couldn't get this bad feeling out of his stomach. His gut told him something horrible was happening to Ban-chan. But as Maria said, nothing he could do for now.

He closed his eyes_. Ban-chan, please be okay, _silently he prayed. Eventually he drifted to sleep.

_I'm coming, Ban-chan._


End file.
